Policy Suggestions

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Searching for Justice

in Post-Gaddafi Libya

Jan Michiel Otto Jessica Carlisle Suliman Ibrahim

Nasser Algheitta Jazia Gebril Amal Obeidi Khalifa Shakreen Mohammed El-Tobuli

A Socio-Legal Exploration

of People’s Concerns and

Institutional Responses at

Home and From Abroad

Report of the AJIDIL

Research Project

Published by Van Vollenhoven Institute,

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Policy Suggestions

Jan Michiel Otto and Suliman Ibrahim

International Community

–Engage with Libya as a long-term commitment, and support the state-building process.

–In doing so assume a “Responsibility to Learn” as a guiding principle, i.e. support the government of Libya in the justice sector on the basis of realistic, domestic, research-based analyses of the justice problems in society and state, rather than on foreign, supply-driven proposals, or impressionistic assumptions.

Government and Parliament (GNC)

–Continue the balanced, democratic, peaceful and law-based approach to all justice issues, and focus on the mandate of managing the “transition” to a constitutional state.

–Prioritise improving security by dismantling the militias, and, where possible, training and integrating them into the regular state army, police, and other security forces.

–Reduce support for “militia justice” by publicising its undemocratic and unjust operations, in close collaboration with civil society organisations.

–Revitalise the transitional justice process and make all voices heard, thus aiming at justice, mutual understanding and reconciliation.

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–Incorporate the Law 4/1978-based conflicts into the wider frameworks of transitional justice.

–Use the upcoming process of constitution making to organise well-informed constructive dialogue about important and sensitive topics, in close collaboration with civil society organisations and universities.

–Consider reform of the Criminal Procedure Code to give more rights to defence lawyers and to enhance judicial supervision of police and prosecution in the pre-trial stage.

Government/ Ministries of Justice and Higher Education

–Produce realistic analyses of justice problems in society and state.

–Commission Libyan universities to carry out policy-relevant research projects on access to justice and legal and institutional reform and encourage joint Libyan-international research groups in this area.

–Commission such research projects of three types, i.e. legal research, qualitative socio-legal research, quantitative research, including periodical national surveys.

–Establish a national research institute for law and society studies.

Government/Ministry of Justice and Supreme Council for

the Judiciary

–Increase the public confidence of the judiciary and quasi-judicial institutions by making their work more transparent and accountable.

–Ensure that judicial rulings on major socio-political issues are based on well-founded reasons, informed by available academic knowledge, notably from legal and social sciences.

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–The practice of reappointing malfunctioning judges and public prosecutors as public (previously people’s) lawyers should be ended.

–Retain the possibility of the state-led career system of “judicial institutions” to provide inter-professional career paths, for example to become first public lawyers, and later judges.

–Reduce frequent transfers of judges as this practice has been found to make the criminal justice system inefficient.

–Establish a systematic training programme for the legal professions, including joint training of judges and prosecutors with public (previously people’s) lawyers, government lawyers, and private lawyers.

–Enable the Higher Judicial Institute to collaborate with law faculties in order to accumulate expertise and to offer quality courses in legal practice and theory, in all regions.

–Provide the police and all legal professionals with training in the field of human rights, due process and fair trial.

–Explore, through pilot projects and research, whether or not

computerisation and certain applications of E-justice might lower the barriers faced by most justice seekers and/or help courts to deal more efficiently with the increasing and accumulating caseload.

–Respect and retain the crucial roles of female judges and lawyers in the legal system, with special reference to their roles in the family circuit courts.

Universities and Research Institutions

–Renew the legal curricula to suit the practical needs of the justice system, with a focus on human rights.

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–Create a research environment for alpha and gamma-faculties, which rewards quality research that addresses important social, economic, legal, public administration, and political issues.

–Disseminate findings and interim-findings of such research, so that policy-makers may take the outcomes into account when preparing policies or enacting legislation.

–Encourage qualified Libyan researchers to engage in organised policy dialogues with domestic and international policy-makers.

–Initiate, support and execute research projects on access to justice and institutional development, to provide for a knowledge base for decision-makers. For example

a. Make an accurate assessment of the conflicting claims about the potential of people’s (now public) lawyers through extensive empirical research; b. Design and assess potential solutions for problems of dispossession of

property related to Law 4/1978;

c. Study the actual practices of legal institutions, notably the police, courts, prosecution, and local councils;

d. Study justice-seeking practices in cases of theft and assault, and employment disputes;

Policy Suggestions

Searching for Justice

in Post-Gaddafi Libya

A Socio-Legal Exploration

of People’s Concerns and

Institutional Responses at

Home and From Abroad

Report of the AJIDIL

Research Project

Table of Contents

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Policy Suggestions

Jan Michiel Otto and Suliman Ibrahim